NFL: Patriots' three rookie receivers are a great catch

FOXBORO — The Patriots drafted Aaron Dobson in the second round in April. A month later, the highly touted rookie receiver joined the veterans on the field for offseason training activities.

And he was absolutely blown away by the speed at which the offense operated in those non-contact practices.

"I can remember how fast everything was going," Dobson recalled last week, smiling and shaking his head in amazement. "How fast the learning process was, how fast they were putting plays in. It was a little rough transitioning into a new place, new teammates, new offense, new quarterbacks.

"It was difficult, but I think I transitioned well. To where I'm at from where I came, it's a long way."

There have been passes dropped and routes run incorrectly along the way, but the game has slowed down enough for the Marshall alum to make an overall positive and productive first impression.

Dobson enters Sunday's season finale against the Buffalo Bills needing four receptions to join Deion Branch (see chart) as the only receivers to catch at least 40 passes as a rookie during Bill Belichick's 14 seasons as New England's coach. He already has, in two fewer games, surpassed Branch in receiving yards and touchdowns.

(Let it be duly noted Julian Edelman had 37 receptions in 11 games in 2009, so he figured to top 40 had he been healthy.)

Not only that, Kenbrell Thompkins, who went undrafted out of Cincinnati before making the Patriots, has an outside shot to achieve that rare rookie receiver milestone assuming he doesn't miss a fourth straight game with a hip injury. He has 32 catches.

Add in fourth-round pick Josh Boyce of TCU, who has only nine catches in nine games but has consistently impressed the coaching staff with his intelligence and versatility in practice, and the Patriots appear to have hit the trifecta.

Hard to say anyone saw that coming.

The Patriots have excelled at many things under Belichick, not the least of which is winning.

But they've consistently been trounced when it comes to signing and developing receivers who make an impact as rookies.

Much of that can be attributed to poor drafting. Chad Jackson, Bethel Johnson, Brandon Tate and Taylor Price — all second- or third-round picks — not only struggled as rookies, but failed to really catch on elsewhere after being cut by the Patriots.

Some of that can be traced to a complex offense presided over by Tom Brady.

It's great having a future Hall of Fame quarterback doing the throwing. However, you're not going to see many passes if he doesn't trust that you'll correctly read the defensive coverage and make the proper in-route adjustment within a second after the snap.

What you will get is a face mask full of Brady. Not every rookie is mature enough to handle those verbal lashings, leading to a plunge in confidence from which some never recover.

And then there's the fact the Patriots aren't alone as few receivers across the league make tangible contributions as rookies.

You can build a good case it's the most difficult position after quarterback for a collegian to adjust to instantly as a pro.

No more relying on athleticism to mask sloppy route-running. No more dealing with a route tree that has only two limbs on it. Way more press coverage. It all makes for a long climb few are able to complete in a short time.

Seven rookie receivers currently have 40 receptions, with the Bills' Robert Woods (39) and Dobson (36) well positioned to join them. Nine would be a high-water mark in the past 12 seasons, during which an average of four rookie receivers annually reached 40.

Having someone or two to lean on has helped as Dobson, Thompson and Boyce have benefited from being in this together.

"As a rookie coming in here, it's rough, but I think I handled it really well," Dobson said. "I had two other guys to go through it with me in KT and Josh. I felt like we just stayed on each other and stayed in each other's ear just to keep each other sharp."

While Dobson, Thompkins and (forget the stats) Boyce have shined as freshmen, there's no guarantee they won't slump as sophomores. But if they continue to carry themselves in the coming years like they have in the past few months, there's no reason to think they won't take on larger roles down the road.

"All the rookie receivers, I don't know their past, but from day one when they got here, they've always been —they're obviously great athletes, you see it every day in practice — but they have a pretty good head on their shoulders, and they've done everything they've been told to," fourth-year tight end Michael Hoomanawanui said.

"It isn't easy being a rookie, getting pulled in a hundred different directions day in and day out. You're doing extra meetings, doing all the extra stuff to be a professional football player. It isn't easy by any means and nowhere in the contract does it say it's easy, but I think they've done a great job of handling everything, be it practice, games or life off the field."

After a slow start, Dobson and his fellow rookie receivers are looking for a fast finish. Best of all, it looks as if they're not even close to having reached full speed.